Tim Southee was the hero for New Zealand as the Kiwis levelled the one-day series in Bristol today. The 19-year-old took three wickets in eight balls in the middle of the England innings before returning to claim the crucial wicket of Paul Collingwood as the home side chased 183.

England had recovered from the soft early losses of Luke Wright and Kevin Pietersen to reach 62-2 in the 16th over, before the dismissal of Ian Bell heralded a decisive change in the home side's fortunes. All-rounder Grant Elliott, who had earlier starred with the bat, induced Bell to drive loosely to Brendon McCullum at cover, starting a collapse that would see them lose four wickets for three runs in just four overs.

Southee grew in confidence with every ball as he probed away outside the off-stump and claimed the next three wickets to fall. Ravi Bopara, who had began to unfurl some drives of real quality after a scratchy start, was first to go as he cut hard to backward point where Jamie How took a splendid diving catch. Owais Shah and Tim Ambrose followed in Southee's next over, both without scoring, both prodding non-committally towards the slip cordon.

It was England of old, typified by the lacklustre Bell's exit, driving at a ball that would almost certainly have been called a wide. If that was irresponsible, then so was the timing of Bopara's stroke when a cool head was needed. For Ambrose, dubbed the best one-day batsman in England by his former coach at Warwickshire, Mark Greatbatch, the meek nature of his submission provided little evidence that he is the man to answer England's keeping problem; and he now has just two runs to show for his first three ODI innings.

Collingwood, nursing a sore lower back, had been forced to watch helplessly from the non-striker's end as his team-mates surrendered. But he set about rebuilding the innings with the assistance of Graeme Swann. Swann batted with characteristic gusto, using his feet to Daniel Vettori and cutting the seamers as the pair put on 64, before he also fell in disappointing fashion by clipping Styris to midwicket when well set on 29.

Swann's dismissal brought Stuart Broad to the crease with 54 still needed for victory. Accomplished as ever, Broad and Collingwood had whittled the target down towards 30 when Vettori turned to Southee for one final push. The promising youngster did not disappoint, trapping Collingwood in front for 34 with his penultimate delivery to put the Kiwis back in the driving seat with bad light closing in. It was to prove the decisive blow for England, as Stuart Broad fell soon afterwards to an excellent leg-side catch by Gareth Hopkins off the bowling of Vettori with 23 still needed from 25 balls. When Chris Tremlett skied Elliott to Vettori, England's misery was complete.

Earlier, Elliott had been the mainstay for New Zealand as his half-century rescued what was a catastrophic start, building the platform for some brutal late hitting from Mills that lifted them to comparative respectability. That they were allowed to reach 182 having been 60-6 should be a cause for some concern as England examine their bowling options in the middle of the innings. They are well set to contain but must find a way of prising wickets when the frontline seamers are not in action.

James Anderson's second over had proved a microcosm of both his inconsistency and New Zealand's summer. McCullum briefly threatened to dominate, taking 16 from the first five balls in typical bludgeoning fashion, before one shot too many brought his demise - Pietersen holding on high above his head on the edge of the ring at mid-off.

That New Zealand's one-day fortunes tend to mirror McCullum's has become increasingly clear as the series wears on, and his dismissal brought about a typically introspective response from a top-order short on runs and confidence. England bowled well, with Stuart Broad and Chris Tremlett particularly impressive, but they were faced with the bare minimum in the way of strokeplay or resistance as they conceded just 16 runs in a 12-over spell between the seventh and the 18th overs.

Broad even touched 90mph on occasion as he bowled his 10 overs off the reel with an admirable mixture of hostility and control to record parsimonious figures of 2 for 14. Jamie How was undone by his consistency - seduced by a ball that was never there to pull, he succeeded only in bottom edging on to his middle stump. But it was the wicket of Ross Taylor that really excited, as a genuinely quick fuller delivery beat the batsman's lazy prod from wide of the crease. Taylor played the shot on the walk, and hardly broke stride as he headed to the pavilion.

In between, Tremlett had accounted for Scott Styris with a rising brute of a delivery that brushed the batsman's glove on the way to Tim Ambrose, and New Zealand were rocking at 42-4. When Daniel Flynn went in bizarre fashion, top-edging a wild James Anderson full-toss 43 balls and seven runs later, New Zealand were there for the taking.

However, England would conspire to be as insipid in the second-half of the innings as they had been inspired in the first. Perhaps wary of a late onslaught, Collingwood opted to keep Tremlett's final overs in reserve, and while their scoring remained subdued the Kiwi batsmen found Luke Wright and Collingwood himself far more to their liking. Despite losing Gareth Hopkins to a top-edged pull off Collingwood, a combination of misfields and dropped catches allowed Elliott and Vettori to edge New Zealand over the hundred mark. When Vettori chipped Graeme Swann tamely to Shah at mid-on, New Zealand were 110-7 - and that was as good as it got for England.

England would pay for their failure to take the game by the scruff of the neck as Mills was allowed to play himself in amid more friendly fire. By the time Tremlett did return in the 46th over he could only watch as the dogged Elliott nurdled him for the single that brought up his maiden one-day fifty.

The real fireworks were still to come, as Mills accorded Anderson the spanking that a wayward performance deserved, his three wickets purchased for the princely sum of 62 runs, when Broad and Tremlett conceded just 38 between them. When Mills was finally out for a 40-ball 47 from the final delivery of the innings, he had helped New Zealand to add 32 runs and close on 182, a total that had appeared the stuff of fantasy just an hour before, and that would ultimately prove beyond England's reach.

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